To the editor:

Ozone is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented substances on earth. After reading about the increase in air-quality standards last week, I couldn’t help but notice all of the focus is on ozone, not any of the manmade chemicals polluting our air, just the naturally occurring one.

Why? Ozone was here before humans. Ozone was here before cars and factories. Ozone was here before smog. Why then is it targeted by “air quality experts”? Because we can’t control it and no one is to blame for its creation. Big Oil, automobile manufactures, industrial plants and power companies can all point their dirty fingers at the only substance in our atmosphere fighting to clean our air.

It makes complete sense that high levels of ozone are present when the brown cloud of pollution is hovering. It is trying desperately to clean up our mess. Think about it. If ozone is smog, as the experts are saying, then why after millions of years is our sky still blue? Shouldn’t it be brown? Are there negative consequences to overexposure of ozone? Absolutely – just like too much sunlight will burn and cause cancer, too much water can kill and mustard can be weaponized as a gas. Of course, moderate levels of sunlight create vitamin D, water is necessary for life and mustard is great on a hot dog.

Let’s stop blaming our environment’s best housekeeper and focus our attention on the source of the pollution.

Gabe Hunninghake
Lawrence